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Saving On Shipping

By Angela Kennecke
Published: November 11, 2010, 9:50 PM

SIOUX FALLS, SD - You bought the presents and now comes the second big expense: shipping them. But there are ways you can cut down on those costs and areas you don't want to scrimp on.

The first and most important is to ship early.

"If you use one of the carriers, Fed Ex, UPS or even post office, if you wait until you just have a couple of days you're going to pay three times as much as you would if you just shipped early," Janel Cole of PostNet said.

It's also important to compare prices between carriers and priorities because they can vary.

"On overnight, it might vary several dollars on just mail, like an overnight package if it's a letter envelope it might differ to different addresses $4, $5, $6," Cole said.

You can save by using a standard sized box.

“The price is predicated on three things, the size, the weight and where it's going. So you don't want to take an item and put in a larger box than you need. You want it in a compact box," Cole said.

And if you want the $100 insurance that comes from carriers like Fed Ex or UPS, you must use a new one.

"But they do not like an experienced box, what we call experienced. They don't like a used box because it loses some of its integrity," Cole said.

When it comes to packing that box, it may be wise to pay the professional a few extra dollars to do it for you.

“In the long run, the gift you send gets there in the condition you want it to be in," Cole said.

Also if you're ordering online, many websites offer free shipping this time of year to get your business. But you'll want to check to see how long it will take for your package to arrive.

You can also save money by sending your package to the recipient’s work place. Shipping with a carrier to a commercial address is less expensive than shipping to a home.

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